Are bass cords and an amp necessary, or could you use ones that you use with guitar?

Answer 1

In amplification it is a good idea to have the correct equipment for the job. In the case of a bass guitar, is is definatly a better idea of get an amp that's designed for the bass. The bass obviously by it's nature produces lower frequency notes than the guitar, as such the amplifier, and the speaker need to be able to process the lower frequencies, and often an amp and speaker designed for a guitar is not able to handle the frequencies produced by a bass. The amp could over heat, distort the sound, and potentially blow out the speaker cone if you're not careful. In relation to the cords/cables, you can use the same cables on a guitar as you can on a bass.

Answer 2

Technically, a guitar amp will work - if it has a 4x12 cab or a heavy duty 12 or 15" closed back speaker. A small amp with a 25 or 50 watt rated speaker is going to distort or even blow.
A bass speaker is designed to take the big excursion and heat that low frequencies produce, and the cab is sealed.
Monster Cable makes a special bass cable, but as long as you use a guitar cable under 18.5 feet there is no problem.

Answer 3

The patch cords used for regular guitar amplifiers will suffice for the bass amplifiers. They're all 1/4" jack inputs and outputs--usually. You should use a bass amplifier if you want to play a bass guitar.

Answer 4

The chords are the same, but don't play a bass thru a guitar amp.... unless you are playing really soft.